Impact attachment for wheel lug wrenches



June 17, 1952 p, NASH 2,600,796

IMPACT ATTACHMENT FOR WHEEL LUG 'WRENCHES Filed May 31, 1949 Nash INVENTOR.

ATTOQNEY Patented June 17, 1952 UNITED STATES OFFEI CE IMPACT ATTACHMENTFOR 'WHEEL LUG WRENGHES Paul H. Nash, White Deer, Tex.

Application May 31, 1949;Serial No.96,202

(Cl; ill-52.3)

4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to automobile wheel lug wrenches and more particularly to anattachment for such wrenches adapted to create through impact, a force on the lug wrench ef- --fective to loosen the most obstinate lug nut and,

conversely, to tighten the same.

The principal object of the invention is to *provide an impact imposing attachment for a lugwrenchof the type having radial socket arms -and employed chiefly for mounting and demounting tires of heavy duty-hauling'equipment b'uses; tractors and the like having oversized lugs and retaining nuts and bolts. The attachment consists of a pin adapted for insertion in the center-hole o'f vthe :lug wrench and to wvhichcis pivoted an'arm carrying a hammer on l its outer end adapted to be brought "forcibly against one orwthe other of the sockets .on the wrench arm :at right angles to the arm carrying the lug socket being applied and thus to impose a the'simpa'ct .arm may be disposed: parallelism with 'selected arms" of the wrench, thus to permit the hammer to be brought into engagement with fthe respective, sockets. of the wrench arm. Provision .isrmade'; toitpl'fihibllt rotative displacement 50f the mounting pin of. the attachment-to insure :,-alignment of the "impact arm with :a a'sele'cted socket armlof the wrench at all times.

, with the foregoing objects in view," the invention has further reference to certain features of accomplishment which will become apparent as the description proceedsytaken in connection with the accompanying drawingsvwherein:

:Figure. l is a perspective view 'of .a conventional irlu'g wrench,except for the provision of a'sl'o tted "center hole.

Figure 2 is *a' fragmentary elevational view of Y a lug wrench having a square center hole.

vFigure 3 is afragmentary perspective view of the impact attachment illustrating the form of mounting pin applicable to the form of lug wrench shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the lug wrench shown in Figure '2, partly in section and showing the impact attachment of the invention installed thereon.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional View of the klug Wrench showing the mounting pin locking Continuing with a more detailed description of ltheidraw-ing, reference numeral denotes .gener'a'lly the lug Wrench which, except for'the grooved center hole i l, is of conventional manuifacture. Further reference to the grooved hole 'l-lwill be made presently.

The lug nuts on heavy duty vehicle-wheels'become firmly set, especially after being long sexposed to road slush and frequently requirea starting torque to loosen them :on theirtbolts. lhe most effective-force is by sudden impact as by a jarring blow imposed in a direction tending to rotate the wrench arm carrying the nut socket being :applied.

*The present invention therefore provides an impact attachment consisting of an impact arm 12 having a bifurcated end 4'3 whileon' theopposite end of thee-arm isformed or-attaiched-a weighted head or hammer M. An axia'l e-xtension i is formed on the head [4 and carriesa form of handle Hi which may be of any suitablesliape and which adds to theefiective weight ofthe "head.

'Pivoted inthe bifurcated end of the' impa'ct the same reference numerals are "employedto in- "dicate like parts in the several views.

"The purpose in making the pin l-s cylindrical is to accommodate the same to thecirculanhole H of the wrench 10 which is present in -theconventionalwrench and all that is r necessary to adaptthe attachment to the wrench is-topmduce two slots 2-0 in the wall of the hole approxima tely apart. Conforming 'to-one-or the *other-ef the slots'zl'l is ax-key 21-formed on the s'h'ank i the pin l9. "'When the pin i9 is --disposed soth'at its'key- 2l is in one slot 20, the impact arm I: williieparallel-with one or the "other oftheradial arms 22 of the-wrench. "By :rem-ovin'g and-replacing the pin I'Bto engage its "key with the companion 'slot'ZG; the impact-arm I! of the attachment will lie parallel'with one or the other of the companion radial-"arms '23 of the wrench.

The described varrangement is such-that the handle IBtmay be grasped with one hand and with: a l-ug nut, thehammer 1 Won the impact "arm .42 :is brought-into sudden "contact with ea socket 24 on the wrench arm"w hich fisiatlright angles to the 7 arm carrying the" workcengagin'g .qso'cket, thus imposing :a force ten'dingztoaeither :dislodgean obstinate nut or to tighten thesame,

depending on whether the nut is being applied or removed.

As a means to hold the pin H) in the center hole ll of the wrench, a longitudinal slot 25 is made in the pin which extends partially into the shank portion thereof. The end of the slot 25 nearest the end of the pin has a hump 26 (Figs. 4 and 5) therein against which rockingly bears a tapered key 21, the latter being adapted for insertion through the slot to engage the spider 28 of the wrench and to draw the shank I8 of the pin well into the center hole H. The hump 26 in the slot 25 reduces frictional contact between the key and pin and the shoulder 29 aifords a stop to insure free movement of the bifurcated end |3 of the impact arm I2 when the latter is oscillated as suggested by the broken line in Figure 4 which intersects the pivotal point of the arm l2. The key 21 is suspended from the pivot bolt I! of the arm l2 by means of a chain 30 to preculde loss or displacement of the key.

In Figures 2 to 5, the spider 28 is shown as having a square center hole II which obviates the necessity for slotting the circular hole. The only change necessary to adapt the mounting pin IE! to the square hole is to make the shank l8 thereof corresponding square shape in transverse section.

To change the attachment in the form last described from a tightening position to a loosening position or vice versa it is necessary only to I remove the key 21 from the slot 25, withdraw the pin from the hole and replace it after rotating it 90.

In cases where the lug wrench does not have a center hole therein, a clamp or attaching means for the impact arm such as shown on a reduced scale in Figure 6 is employed. This clamp consists of a preferably cast body 3| having side and end flanges 32, each of which is arcuately recessed at a to receive the radial arms of the wrench 33, shown fragmentarily and in dotted lines. The center boss of the wrench is covered by one end of the body 3| and rising from the body in centered relationship with the wrench boss is a pin 34 having diametrically opposed flats to receive the bifurcated end 35 of the impact arm 36, fragmentarily shown and which is pivoted to the pin 34 at b.

Parallel extensions 31 are formed on the body 3| to straddle the wrench arm on which the body is longitudinally disposed. These extensions have longitudinal slots in register, one with the other to receive a tapered key 38, attached to the body by a chain 39-. The key extends across the wrench arm opposite the body 3| and by virtue of the taper on the key, the latter may be driven into the slots of the extensions 31 a depth suificient to firmly clamp the body onto the wrench.

When the body 3| is positioned as described, the hammer, not shown, formed on the outer end of the arm 36 may be oscillated 0n the pivot a. and brought forcibly against the outer end of the wrench arm which is at right angles to the arm in axial alignment with the work and thus exert the added force necessary to loosen or tighten a lug nut. It is apparent also that the position of the body on the wrench may be changed to act on another arm simply by removing the key 38 and turning the body 3| 90, after which the key 38 is reinserted in the slots of the extensions 31.

Manifestly, the construction as shown and described is capable of some modification and such modification as may be construed to fallwithin 4 the scope and meaning of the appended claims is also considered to be within the spirit and intent of the invention. a

What is claimed is:

1. An attachment for a cross-arm lug wrench, comprising a body adapted to rest on the intersection of the wrench arms, having end and side flanges recessed to receive said wrench arms, relatively parallel extensions formed on one of said flanges adapted to straddle a selected arm of said wrench, said extensions having longitudinal slots in register, a tapered key slidable in said slots to secure said body to said wrench, a pin in the center of said body, an arm pivoted at one end to said pin'and held thereby against other than oscillative displacement in a plane parallel with the longitudinal axis of a selected arm of said wrench, and an impact head on the opposite end of said arm adapted to be brought into forcible engagement with the outer end of said selected wrench arm.

2. An impact attachment for a cross-arm lug wrench comprising a clamp adapted to be removably secured to one side of said wrench at the intersection of its arms and having a pin extending outwardly from its center, parallel extensions on said clamp adapted to straddle one of the arms of said wrench and having aligned longitudinal slots, a tapered key receivable in the slots of said extensions on the opposite side of said wrench to hold said clamp in fixed relationship with said wrench, an impact arm pivoted to said pin for oscillative displacement relative to a selected arm of said wrench and adapted to be brought into forcible engagement adjacent its outer end with the outer end of said selected wrench arm and means on the outer end of said impact arm for actuating the same.

3. An impact attachment for a lug wrench of the radial arm type, including an impact arm adapted to be disposed normally in parallelism with a selected arm of said wrench, a mounting for said arm comprising a body detachably secured to the center of the spider of said wrench and provided with a centrally disposed pin to which the inner end of said impact arm is pivotally attached, a slotted extension integral with said body, a tapered key extending through said slotted extension to draw said body firmly against said wrench spider, a hammer on the outer end of said impact arm and means carried by said impact arm for actuating the hammer thereof against the nut socket of a selected arm of said wrench.

4. An attachment for a lug wrench as set forth in claim 3 in which the slotted extension and pin provision is made to secure said body against rotation on said wrench to hold said impact arm against other than oscillative displacement in a plane at right angles to the axis of said lug wrench.

PAUL H. NASH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

